Journey from Chamkaur to Mukatsar

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After leaving Chamkaur, Guruji Gobind Singh moved from place to place,
looking for safety. Soon he reached the Machhiwara forest about 22 miles
from Ludhiana. Guruji wandered barefoot in the forest without any food,
rest or sleep for many days. This had rendered him physically very weak
and his feet had developed blisters.

After the Battle of Chamkaur, it dawned upon Khawaja Mardud of Chamkaur
that the head bearing the plume(Kalgi) did not appear to be that of the
Guruji. Therefore he ordered Wazir Khan to search the whole area to find
the Guruji who apparently had slipped away again. Wazir Khan sent a
number of army contingents in all directions to apprehend Guruji.

Meanwhile, Guruji who was sleeping in the forest of Machhiwara was
awakened by three of his followers - Daya Singh, Dharam Singh and Man
Singh, who had got separated at Chamkaur while escaping. Since Guruji
was still tired, he spent the whole day resting along with his three
Sikhs.

The next day, Guruji and his three companions proceeded towards a nearby
village. On the way, they met two Pathans - Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan,
who were horse traders and had lived for sometime in Anandpur. They told
him that it was not safe to wander through the countryside for the
Imperial Army was pursuing him. They both desired to carry him to
safety.

During this period, Guruji also met an old woman named Gurdevi who had
spun some cloth for Guruji which she presented to him. Since the cloth
was dyed blue, Guruji then dressed himself in the blue garb of a
Mohammedan fakir to escape the dragnet which had been cast for him.

He was then carried on a cot by Ghani Khan, Nabi Khan, Man Singh and
Dharam Singh while Daya Singh waved the chaur. The party had not gone
too far when it accidentally met a detachment of the Imperial Army
searching for Guru Gobind Singh. When the captain of the detachment
enquired the identity of the person being carried with such respect
Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan told the commander that he was 'Uchch ka Pir'
who was visiting his followers.

After this narrow escape Guruji with his party reached Kaner village.
Since the danger of the Imperial Army was no longer felt Guruji wanted
to send back Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan. However, both of them helped
carried Guruji on to Hehar village. Here Guruji Gobind Singh permitted
Ghani Khan and Nabi Khan to return to Machhiwara but not before he gave
them a pair of gold bracelets and a hukamnama in which all Sikhs were
directed to help the two Pathans since they had rendered great service
to Guruji.

From Hehar, Guruji and his three Sikhs moved on and reached Alamgir
village where Guruji met Nagahia Singh, brother of Bhai Mani Singh.
Nagahia Singh offered Guruji a beautiful horse after which the Guruji
and his party reached Dina. When the news of Guruji's arrival at Dina
spread, contingents of Sikhs started visiting him and bringing
offerings.

Once again like at Anandpur, Sikhs started gathering under his command.
Guruji again started training his troops and collected arms for any
future conflict. Soon Guruji had a jatha (sizeable contingent) of Sikhs
under his command.

At Dina, Guru Gobind Singh also wrote his famous Zafarnama (letter of
Victory) to Emperor Aurangzeb, in which he accused Subedars of Lahore
and Sirhind of unnecessarily troubling him and his Sikhs due to which he
was forced to take to the sword for self-defence. Guruji also accused
the Emperor of breaking his oath when Guruji and his Sikhs vacated
Anandpur. He also told the Aurangzeb that he was not the leader of his
religion and severely criticized him for his policy of universal
persecution. Guruji then proceeded to advise him to forsake his policy
of troubling the innocent for their religious beliefs.

Meanwhile, Guruji left Dina and passed through Jhidi, Bhadaur, Bhagta,
Patto, Jaito, Lumbhwali, Malooke-da-kot and reached Kot Kapura. By now
there were sufficient troops under his command. Soon intelligence
reached Guruji that the Imperial Army was again in hot pursuit. Hearing
this Guruji requested the Choudhary of Kot Kapura to allow him the use
of his fortress for self-defense, but the Choudhary, fearing retaliation
of the Imperial Army, refused to help.

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When I began this essay I wondered about the title. Two hard to resist alternatives that almost got me were: 1. Questioning the status quo, or 2. The Place for Confrontational Thinking in Religion. Our many religions weave humans into a magically engrossing rich tapestry....

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